Holi:The festival of colors

The unusually warm winter is melting into summer and falling in the cusp of this yearly weather transition Holi — a heady festival of color and laughter.Holi is considered as second biggest festival on Hindu calendar after Diwali.

You’ll find activities taking place almost all over India, but they range from traditional temple rituals to modern parties with DJs, bhang, and plenty of colors.

Lathmaar Holi:

Indian men don’t always rule the roost! The women of Barsana village near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh beat up men from neighboring Nandgaon village with sticks, in what’s known as Lathmar Holi celebrations. Lathmar Holi takes place around a week before the main day of Holi.

Traditional Holi:

One must experience the festival in Mathura and Vrindavan and also pay a visit to the famous Banke-Bihari Temple. The crowd’s enthusiasm for their beloved Lord Krishna needs to be seen to be believed. In Vrindavan, the festival is celebrated for a week.

Basantotsava:

The celebration of Holi as Basanta Utsav (Spring Festival) in Shantiniketan was started by famous Bengali poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.Basantotsava has become a cherished part of Bengali history and culture and attracts numerous tourists.

Royal Holi:

How can our Maharajas be left behind when the people did it in style. The experience in this majestic place is of course royal. A day before Holi — which is celebrated as Holika Dahan — hundreds of pyres are lit all over the city. But the one at the Jagdish Temple is the biggest. The Holi experience here is grand.

Warrior Holi:

Hola Mohalla is an annual fair that dates all the way back to 1701. It was first organized by Sikh Guru Gobind Singh to celebrate Holi.They shout, and shout their hearts out following a peculiar tradition. Besides, they also exhibit their martial arts specially ‘kushti’ on this day and make merry with the colours in the evening. Mouthwatering halwas, puris, gujias, a preparation of raw jack fruit and malpuas are of course, an essential part of the festivities. The only difference is that they do not light a bonfire.

Dola:

The tradition followed in Odisha is quite similar to that of West Bengal with only minor region specific changes. For instance, Holi assumes the name of ‘Dol Purnima’ here also, but instead of placing the idols of Krishna and Radha on the swing they place the idol of Lord Jagannath. This is so because of the famous temple of Jagannath at Puri. Besides, Jagannath is only a synonym of Krishna.

The palanquin – with the idol of Lord Jagannath on it is taken out in a procession around the main streets of the city. Devotees take turn to swing it while women dance around it and sing devotional songs. All this while men keep spraying colored water and color powder, ‘abeer’ at them.

so this’s all for today . Hope you enjoyed reading about this festival of colors celebrated in different parts of india in different manners . Have a great spring and don’t forget to like and follow . Give your reviews in the comments ..

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